Snow, ice make for fine mess in Fitchburg

By Alana Melanson, amelanson@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
01/08/2013 10:40:34 AM EST

FITCHBURG -- More than 130 property owners could receive violation notices and fines for failing to remove snow and ice from their sidewalks after the recent snowstorms due to the enforcement of an ordinance that was revised last summer.

The ordinance requires all property owners of any real estate abutting any sidewalk within the city to clear the sidewalks of snow to create a walking path of at least 36 inches or the width of the sidewalk, whichever is smaller, within 24 hours of the storm's end.

If the ice cannot be removed completely, property owners are required to make the ice level and cover it with sand, salt or another suitable substance to prevent those walking on it from slipping. If they fail to comply, they are liable to rack up fines of up to $200 every day the snow or ice remains.

According to police Sgt. Glenn Fossa, officers on patrol throughout the weekend took stock of the addresses they found to be in violation of the ordinance following the snows of Dec. 29 and Dec. 30, and the offenders were numerous.

Fossa said about 135 specific addresses were listed as having snow-covered sidewalks in the police logs from Friday through Sunday alone, and large sections or entire streets deemed to be in violation were also noted.

Many of the streets were in the neighborhood surrounding Fitchburg State University or in Cleghorn, with others scattered throughout the city.

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Myrtle Avenue appeared to have the most violations, with 27 listed addresses. Other streets with several violations include Pearl, West, Oliver, Granite, Prichard, Cedar, Clinton, and Mt. Vernon.

Fossa said more than 20 violation notices were sent Monday to offending addresses, and many more would be sent out in the coming days. Addresses receiving violations will be checked to ensure compliance with the ordinance, and if they are found to remain in violation, there is the potential for increased fines, he said.

The fines are akin to parking tickets and must be paid at Fitchburg District Court, or the recipient can request a hearing within 21 days of the date on the ticket.

"We're obviously responding to the requests of citizens to keep the sidewalks clear," Fossa said. "This is one of mechanisms the city has to ensure everyone is doing their part to maintain the safe passage for pedestrians on public walkways."

According to Department of Public Works Commissioner Lenny Laakso, the first violation of the ordinance is a $100 fine, a second would result in a $150 fine, and the third and each subsequent day in violation after that is a $200 fine per day, he said. That means that if a property owner leaves a sidewalk in violation for four days, he or she could face a total of $650 in fines.

Laakso said the DPW is in the process of printing door hangers that DPW workers, health inspectors and parking-enforcement personnel would place at properties where they see unshoveled sidewalks to warn the owner.

"Basically, it's just to inform the homeowner that it's their responsibility to keep the sidewalk clear of snow and ice, and they're subject to a fine if they don't do it," he said. "The idea is just to get people to clean off the sidewalks so people have a safe place to walk, especially school kids."

As there is no formal warning required before being sent a violation notice, owners could receive fines without getting a door hanger first, Laakso said.

He said the update was made to the original ordinance -- which was rarely, if ever, enforced in the past -- because the state issued a law decreeing specific requirements that cities and towns must have in their snow- and ice-removal ordinances when it comes to sidewalks.

Dolores Walker, 65, of 46 Myrtle Ave., said she hadn't received a violation notice as of Monday evening, and was surprised to find out her address was listed as an offender. She also was not aware of the ordinance.

"I think they would've warned me first, but I don't know. I guess the city needs the money," she said. "It looks like ice now. I don't know how to do that, unless I get out there with a chisel or something. My feeling is, I think should've gotten a warning to clean it up."

"There's going to be a lot of stuff hitting the fan if I get a violation," said Ronald Varney, 70, whose home at 45 Clinton St., also appears on the list.

Varney acknowledged that there is about snow 2 to 3 feet high on the sidewalks at his home at the corner of Clinton and Orange streets, and said he refuses to remove it because the city's plows put it there.

"They come down Clinton Street and they plow all that snow right on the sidewalk," he said. "I have nothing I can do with 2,000 tons of snow. I shovel where I park on Clinton and where my daughter parks on Orange."

He said he has lived in his home for about 20 years, and the problem has always been the same with plowing. He said he has tried to find other solutions and other places where the snow could go, but has come up empty-handed.

"There's nothing else they can do with it," Varney said. "It's got to come here. But I'm not going to shovel it. I never have."